13 June 2011

Officials investigating an organic farm in Northern Germany announced on Saturday that they do not expect to take legal action, even though it has been linked to the deadliest E.coli outbreak in modern history.

While they are still unable to definitively identify the source of the outbreak, German officials maintain that further evidence suggests the sprouted seeds are to blame. However, Gert Hahne, spokesman for the Lower Saxony consumer protection office, said, "Everything we have looked into until now shows the farm was flawless. It is hygienic and followed all the regulations. No matter how you look at it we don't see any fault with the farm or legal ground to hold them accountable. You cannot punish someone for having bad luck."

500 samples from the farm are still being examined, including some from the farm's seeds, which came from Europe and Asia. The German government has come under fire for failing to pinpoint the cause of the outbreak and for its subsequent handling of the crisis. A government official initially blamed Spanish cucumbers for the E.Coli, which has shaken consumer confidence across the World and, according to Copa-Cogeca, the European farmers’ federation, losses resulting from the crisis amount to €400 million per week in 8 member states.

The number of confirmed cases in Britain is 14, all linked with travel to Germany. 31 people have died after contracting the virulent E.coli. German authorities announced on Friday that the rate of infection is slowing. German consumers have been advised that they no longer need to avoid eating cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce, but officials said that, since they are now believed to be the source of the outbreak, raw sprouted seeds should not be eaten.